Conspiracy of Mirkwood
by H M Palmer
Summary: AU. 2 years after the Fellowship. The Mirkwood Elves Council has seemingly gone mad because of an Elf named Maglor. Sathien is distraught, Legolas is missing. It is up to her to save him.
1. Betrayed by Friends

**A/N: Set two years after the LOTR trilogy I did with my characters Remla the hobbit and Sathien the Elf.**

_1 _

_ Today seems so long without Legolas around_, Sathien thought glumly. She sat on a wooden bench overlooking the tops of the trees of Southern Mirkwood, watching the setting sun as she rested peacefully in the dwelling of Dol Guldur, which had been renamed to Amon Lanc by Lord Celebron once the armies of Sauron had been driven out.

It had been two years since the end of the Fellowship. Sathien and Legolas had moved into Mirkwood in Rhovanion and had been living together under command of the remaining Elves of Mirkwood.

Sam had moved back to the Shire. A heartbroken Remla now resided in Rohan under Eowyn's rule, and worked at the stables there. Merry and Pippin were somewhere in Gondor, along with Aragorn and Arwen. Gimli resided in the Glittering Caves of Helm's Deep.

Sathien sighed at everything that had changed. She missed Remla sorely, and she wished there was some way to contact her as she worried about her Halfling friend every day.

She herself was living in Amon Lanc, one of the few safe sanctuaries for Elves left in Mirkwood, and was now one of the few remaining Elves left in Middle Earth. Legolas had gone to visit King Aragorn and Sathien wished she had chosen to go with him. But she knew she was soon to be Lady of Mirkwood, and she would need to keep the Council of Mirkwood active in his absence.

But as of late, Sathien felt that she was not herself. Almost as if some part of her had been missing ever since she had left the Fellowship and realized how much Middle Earth, and her life, had changed.

"Milady?"

Sathien spun around to see Anarion, one of Legolas' many Elf followers in Mirkwood.

"Anarion? What is it?" Sathien got to her feet, regaining her Elvish composure and smoothing her pale white dress that billowed around her. Anarion's presence did not usually cause her to worry, but she _was_ worried as Legolas kept in close contact with the Elf, and if Anarion was here it was not of good news.

"I am sorry to say that Prince Legolas has been ambushed." Anarion announced bluntly, the soft wind throwing his long black hair around his chiseled features and dark brown eyes.

"Ambushed?" Sathien gasped, almost feeling a pressure against her heart. She reached up and clutched the silver tree necklace against her skin; the one Legolas had given to her.

"By Free Orcs," Anarion continued, ignoring her distressed state. "Nerdanel and Cirdan managed to fight them off, but Prince Legolas had gone."

"Gone? What do you mean?" Sathien asked, blinking back tears.

"He could have been captured, or his horse could have reared up from the battle and fled." Anarion cast his eyes to the ground.

"How many Free Orcs?" Sathien enquired, keeping her pained feelings away from her as she tried to focus on the next course of action.

"Less than twelve, more than six." Anarion confirmed.

"Send some Elves to find him!" Sathien ordered, her fear for Legolas' safety urging her into action.

"I'm afraid that can't be done." Anarion said slowly. Sathien blinked and frowned at his impassive face.

"Excuse me?"

"You see, many of us Elves have been wanting Prince Legolas to be gone for some time," Anarion took a step towards her and Sathien reactively stepped back. "For the past few months that he has been Prince of Mirkwood, things have gone out of order."

"Out of order?" Sathien echoed in disbelief.

"His lust-"

"_Lust_?" Sathien interrupted in anger. "Legolas and I _love_ one another, it is not lust! And what would you know of it?"

"It has clouded his judgement," Anarion gave her a dark look. "During the monthly Council, he makes decisions that the fool Elf Daeron could have made. He does not care for the future of Elves, only for his time with you. Does he not see that we are close to death? There are too few of us now, and Prince Legolas does not make better decisions for our future!"

"What sort of thinking is this?" Sathien cried in anger, feeling like Anarion had gone mad.

"The thinking of Lord Maglor." Anarion smiled grimly and Sathien sensed two more Elves walking at her from behind.

"Maglor…" Sathien frowned, shaking her head as everything Anarion had said sunk in. _How could he act this way? He has gone mad; he should have left to the Grey Havens when he had the chance!_ She felt firm hands grasp her shoulders and glanced behind her to see the blank faces of Nerdanel and Cirdan.

"What has truly happened to Legolas?" Sathien demanded, trying to shake the hands of the other Elves off her shoulders. The Elves were not even answering her, and she dreaded of what had happened to her love. Sathien had never heard of Maglor, but she had a queasy feeling, a feeling that these Elves were not going to let her off easily. They were going to dispose of her, Sathien could see it.

_No! Legolas' voice echoed through the trees and Sathien could see herself lying on the rocks, her body broken and bloody, the river water flowing over her lifeless body. _

The sudden image flooded out of her mind and Sathien gasped from the intense imagery, the fact that she had seen herself dead.

The gift of foresight inherited from Lord Elrond, Sathien remembered with shock. She had not had such a vision since the Fellowship. _Is that what will become of me? _

Now she felt fear as she noticed Anarion, Nerdanel and Cirdan had moved in front of her and were now backing her towards the balcony.

"Who is Maglor?" Sathien asked, trying to buy herself time, time to escape, find Legolas and a way to stop the insane Elves.

_Can there be any other Elves corrupted by this madness?_ Sathien thought fervently.

"He is an Elf, an Elf corrupted by the powers of darkness that he will share with us once we bring him the soon-to-be Lady of Mirkwood." Nerdanel grinned.

Sathien felt her hands shaking with fear, wondering how she could escape. The wars she had fought in seemed like so long ago and she felt as though she had been reduced to the strength of a woman of Rohan, unable to use the nimble gracefulness and fighting accuracy she had once possessed all those years ago.

_How could I not know how to fight once again?_ Sathien thought, feeling her back hit the balcony railing and seeing the victorious grins of the mad Elves she had once trusted as her friends.

Sathien took a breath, recalling the adrenaline, the rush of battle as she used her sword, cutting through Orcs, hearing the screams of dying Men around her, focusing only on the thought to survive.

Anarion sensed her hesitation and moved quickly to grab her. Sathien felt her adrenaline react and she dove into a roll, feeling her muscles strain from easy living. She rolled to her feet as Nerdanel and Cirdan grabbed at her arms to try and hold her down.

Cirdan grasped her arm and pulled viciously. Sathien used the momentum to pull Cirdan toward her then she spun and forced his grip from her arm.

Hands grabbed at her mouth and waist from behind, trying to drag her inside. Sathien raised her elbows and forced them deep into the chest of Anarion who let out a pained breath and released his grip.

Sathien dove into a roll to avoid Nerdanel and found herself at the balcony again, slightly exhausted, and yet the Elves had only become aggravated.

"I'm sorry that we must do this." Cirdan rushed at her and Sathien crouched to avoid his swing and slammed her shoulder into his chest, delivering a swift punch to his face and then grabbing the graceful folds of his clothes and throwing him at the direction of the balcony without a thought.

There was a scream and Sathien looked back to see Cirdan had lost his balance and fallen over the railing to his death.

The other Elves seemed to freeze in shock and Sathien recovered from the momentary hesitation of having killed Cirdan. She glared at the other two, waiting, feeling her heart pounding with fear and adrenaline.

Nerdanel rushed at her and managed to grab her arms and twist them back. Sathien winced in pain and Anarion swung his fist into her face. The world seemed to black out for a moment and Sathien felt the throbbing pain and the warmth of her blood across her cheek.

She blinked groggily as Anarion swung again and again. Sathien could feel the world swaying and could faintly hear Anarion's angry cries. She could feel the pain lessening as she begun to slip into unconsciousness.

_What am I doing? I can fight!_ Sathien forced herself to focus and broke free of Nerdanel's grasp, swinging her knee into his chest, pushing him back. She dodged a swing from Anarion and punched him in the face, feeling slightly joyous in watching him recoil in pain.

She went back to Nerdanel who was getting to his feet and kicked him hard, then again. And again for good measure. Nerdanel slumped to the ground and did not rise.

Suddenly remembering Anarion behind her, Sathien spun around and felt a sharp, sudden pain on her shoulder. Anarion had hit her old wound and the pain flared up again, the torn muscles throbbed in agony from the arrow that had once pierced her at Helm's Deep. Sathien stumbled, and tried to maneuver away from him but the Elf was fueled by rage and he pushed her hard over the railing.

Sathien let out a terrified cry, swinging her hands to find a grip as she fell over the balcony to her death.

Her hands grabbed the bottom railing and she clung for her life, swinging precariously in the air, tears in her eyes at how she had become so useless at fighting.

_I had been a warrior, I fought many battles that many men _died_ in_, Sathien thought angrily, throwing her other hand up to hold onto the railing and keeping her eyes away from the ground.

Anarion's face stared down at her.

'You can't hang on forever, get up here and you'll be taken to Maglor immediately.' Anarion ordered.

Sathien glared at him, but she could feel her grip loosening. If she let go, she would fall to her death, and the only other choice was to go up and be captured. Anarion was a much better fighter than Nerdanel and Cirdan, and she was already in pain and exhausted. She could not risk being captured, that would lead to torture and death, and possibly the chance of never seeing Legolas or any of the Fellowship again.

_I have to find Legolas, I have to tell Remla and the others_, Sathien told herself, glancing down to the ground below, the tops of the trees brushing against her dress. If she dropped there was a chance she could hit a tree and land bruised but alive. And there was the chance she would fall straight to the ground and die painfully as Cirdan had.

"I'll be seeing you again soon." Sathien spat at Anarion, feeling slightly less brave than she sounded. Then she released her grip.

Unable to twist her head to see where she was falling, Sathien could only feel the wind blowing around her and hear Anarion's anguished scream. Then the leaves and the branches surrounded her and she was falling through the tops of the trees, the branches cutting deep gashes across her arms and legs. Sathien raised her hands to cover her face, flailing around for a grip on a branch with no idea how close to the ground she was.

_I'm dead, I'm dead. _

Sathien threw out her arm and her dress snagged against a branch. Sathien caught her breath in shock as she looked down at the ground, her dress caught in the tangle of branches around her.

_I have been blessed to have survived. _

Sathien stayed still, willing herself not to move in case her dress tore and she would fall. She glanced around, seeing a medium sized branch that looked like it could hold her weight.

Sathien swung up and grabbed at it, pulling herself up to the branch gracefully and straddling onto it. She maneuvered across the branch to the trunk of the tree where she could regain her balance and recover from what had happened. Her hands were chafed and she was bruised and bleeding from the many grazes and gashes, and her head throbbed with pain.

Sathien could hear distant shouting from Amon Lanc and quickly decided to flee before Anarion sent any Elves after her.

Sathien aimed for a branch below her, released her grip and felt herself falling again. Then she reached out and grabbed the branch, hitting the wood with such force that her breath was knocked from her but she quickly regained her balance and drew in air. She maintained her hold and saw that the ground was not too far down. So Sathien let go and fell for a second, bracing for the impact. She hit the ground feeling her head crash against the dirt, her muscles and bones shake from the impact and for a second she almost lost consciousness.

Barely conscious, Sathien forced herself to her feet and looked at the body of Cirdan, mangled from the force in which he had hit the ground. She felt herself limping, the pain from her wounds and the exhaustion and lack of adrenaline made her actions slower but she did not dawdle, and ran through the woods as fast as she could go.


	2. Onwards To Rohan

**A/N: Thanks for the awesome reviews:) I'm enjoying writing this fic.**

_2_

_How long have I been running for? _Sathien wondered as she noticed the rising sun's light through the trees.

Night had passed and she had been running for most of the time, and now she was hungry and fatigued. But she was not to let such mortal hunger and thirst get to her.

The forests of Mirkwood were more dangerous now that Sauron's rule had ended. Free Orcs roamed around the outskirts of the forest, since the south of Mirkwood lead to the Brown Lands and then the rocky paths of Emyn Muil and the Dead Marshes, where the last of the Orcs resided.

Sathien could sense that she was nearing the end of the forest, and she figured she was near the South of Mirkwood.

Still, she forced herself onwards, forcing her battered legs across the pine needled forest floor, her muscles aching from the strain of the sudden action. Sathien had been living easy during her life in Mirkwood, feasting on succulent fruits and casually walking with Legolas and living as such a Lady Elf would. The warrior she had felt herself to be during the Fellowship's time seemed to be gone, and Sathien could not shake away the feeling of guilt at herself for not having prepared. Middle Earth was not completely safe as she had thought.

The trees ahead of her cleared and she could see herself looking out at the barren plains of the Brown Lands and the distant shape of Emyn Muil. If she could remember correctly, Lorien was to the west of her. But Lorien had become abandoned as had Rivendell, after Lord Elrond and Lady Galadriel had departed.

Rohan was far to the south west and it would take almost a month for her to journey there.

_What can I do? I can't go back to Amon Lanc, they'll be looking for me. _Sathien sighed and slumped to the ground, closing her eyes in thought.

She had no clue where Legolas had gone, or if he had even been captured by Anarion or not.

_And who was Molgur? _Sathien frowned. _Anarion had said it was an Elf. A Lord Elf._

Sathien sighed and ran her hands through her frazzled black hair, wishing for some apples or even some ale from Hobbiton. Even pipeweed, which she did not fancy as much.

Long hours seemed to pass as Sathien frantically tried to think of what to do. The river Anduin was to the west past the Gladden Fields, and if she could find a boat, she could take the river.

_That is the best course of action for now. _Sathien decided then stopped as she felt a smile creep across her face at what she had thought.

_'Course of action', that's always how they speak at the Council. _Sathien smiled sadly, getting to her feet and stepping out into the Brown Lands, focusing on the forests to the west, the tops of the trees of Lorien and Fangorn.

_I can take the river Anduin to Fangorn, _Sathien decided. _Then continue onto Rohan._

Sathien sighed, looking back at the trees of Mirkwood. She could last quite a while without food, but not water.

_Just need to get to Anduin, without Anarion or any mad Elves finding me. _Sathien nodded to herself and kept walking.

Soon she had no energy to barely stand, the sun's heat was pressing against her and every step she worried about Legolas. As time passed she almost felt like she was back to traveling with the Fellowship, and now she missed the presence of Frodo and the other hobbits, the sense of danger, the fatherly guide of Gandalf. The memories of the long journey brought tears to Sathien's eyes as that had immensely changed her life and the fate of Middle Earth.

Some days she still wished she was continuing the journey, still traveling alongside Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli and continuously thinking of the fate of Remla and the other hobbits.

"Milady!"

Sathien jumped at the distant voice and anxiously turned to see a white horse riding toward her, with a blonde Elf riding.

_Legolas? _Sathien thought but it had not been his voice, and she was not thinking straight from the heat.

The Elf rode into sight and she saw the face of Daeron, one of the Elves of the Council, the one Anarion had criticized.

"Daeron!" Sathien cried in relief, feeling all her anxiety and tension drain away in the hope that Daeron was to help her.

"Lady Sathien," Daeron humbly dismounted the horse and bowed to her. "Anarion and twelve other Elves have gone mad, declaring war against you and Prince Legolas!"

_So Anarion must know I am not dead, and Legolas must not have been captured if he was to make such a statement._

"They are mad," Sathien agreed somberly. "Anarion claims to be under the rule of a Lord Maglor. But where is Legolas? Why are you here?"

She felt like blurting out all her questions, but it was not in her behaviour that she had developed from being Lady of Mirkwood.

_I can't believe how different I am from when I had been with the Fellowship. _Sathien thought for a second, but ignored her thoughts when Daeron began to speak.

"No one has heard of Prince Legolas' whereabouts," Daeron answered. "Anarion has decreed that Legolas and you are to be hunted and found as you have gone insane! He says the time of the Elves has ended but we can rise again under the rule of Maglor! I immediately knew he was under some sort of enchantment, otherwise he would not say such things! I took Emnet and set out to find you."

Sathien smiled at Daeron's loyalty to her, and was relieved that not all of the Elves had believed in Anarion.

"What will you do milady?" Daeron persisted.

"I am going to Rohan," Sathien confirmed, thinking that Legolas would have gone there as well if he had escaped. "I will report this betrayal to my friends and then see what we can do."

Daeron nodded in agreement.

"Take Emnet milady, she is well groomed and swifter than the light of Galadriel!" Daeron passed the horse's reins to Sathien who took them gratefully.

"And what are you to do?"

"I am not returning to Mirkwood, that place is no longer considered safe," Daeron pursed his lips in thought. "I will reside to Lorien, where any other Elves will have retreated to if they had seen the madness in Anarion's words."

"Good luck to you." Sathien forced herself to say, knowing that Daeron would be traveling all that way to nothing.

"I wish you-"

Daeron let out a strangled cry and his eyes widened, vacant and empty, as Sathien heard the _woosh_ of an arrow through the air, and the impact of the arrow hitting Daeron in the back, the blood that splattered across his lifeless form as he crumpled to the ground.

"It's her!" an Elf shouted from the forest.

Staring hopelessly at Daeron, Sathien mounted Emnet and urged the horse into a gallop, riding as fast as she could towards Anduin.

She could feel tears in her eyes at Daeron's sudden death but that urged her forward and strengthened her will to get to Remla and find her love.

* * *

"Good Emeroth." Remla smiled, stroking the horse as she led it into a stable.

"_Mon namarie." _Remla repeated, using what few Elvish she learnt from Sathien to coax Emeroth to eat. With a frustrated sigh she ran her hand over her blonde hair and looked at the other six horses she had to lock up in the stables before the end of the night.

"Rohirrim?"

Remla looked up at the man's voice and saw her friend Barahir standing beside his black horse who he had just brought into the stables.

"Yes?" Remla queried warily.

"Do you need help with the horses? They are quite tall for you." Barahir grinned.

"Thanks for the offer, Barahir."

Together Remla and Barahir managed to gather up the horses and get them into their stables before night fell.

"Thanks for the help." Remla looked up at Barahir, who was her only friend in Edoras.

Life had changed considerably after she had watched Frodo leave at the Grey Havens. The horror of being at Mt Doom, the very land of Sauron himself, seemed to have changed something in her. Remla didn't know what it was, but the way Frodo had treated her hurt.

She could remember how Frodo seemed to have liked her, only to brush her off to be with his love Sam. Of course, Remla hadn't told Sathien of the truth, and now it was so long ago.

_But I can't forget the past. _Remla nodded a goodnight to Barahir as they left the stables and she went into the Golden Hall.

"Greetings, young Halfling." murmured the various people in the Hall. Remla looked around and saw Lady Eowyn sitting on the throne, her face stern but relaxed, no longer the cold, unsmiling person she had once been. She looked calm as she talked softly to Lord Faramir. She wondered where their son Haromir had gone to, but then, he was probably out in the Rohan plains, hunting rabbits with his friends, or doing some other peaceful activities.

Remla left the throne room and went to her own room which Lady Eowyn had given to her on her return. The bed was hobbit sized. Mainly everything she used was hobbit sized or had been specially constructed for her. When dining at the table, she had a small seat and Remla could remember the first week when she had arrived, she had felt so out of place at being so small and couldn't put up with the awkward stares around her.

No one had liked her, as she was a Halfling and they had no use for one. But over time, they grew used to her and seen the respect the Lady and Lord had for her and she was accepted into the Golden Halls.

She closed the door and lay on her bed, her thoughts going out to Sathien and especially Frodo. She wondered what it was like in the Grey Havens, if he was at peace.

But for now, she could not shake the feeling that Sathien was in peril.

Sathien spurred Emnet onward, keeping her eyes focused on the distant borders of Rohan ahead. She had been riding through the day, keeping her senses alert for any attack by any of Anarion's Elves.

_I only wish Daeron to have a proper funeral once this is over, _Sathien told herself. She did not want to think of Daeron's body left to cook in the sun. He deserved respect, and he was killed for seemingly no reason.

_Only to find me. _Sathien knew.

Emnet kept riding forward and Sathien began to notice the horse's fatigue.

"_Nan amerath._" Sathien told the horse softly, stroking its head and hoping Emnet would last until they got to the river.

Rohan seemed so far away, and now Sathien began to wonder if going to Rohan was the right thing to do. She wouldn't last the week long journey, travelling to Lorien would be safer, but then she suspected that the Elves would know she would go there.

Faintly in the distance, Sathien could see grass, trees and the glittering waters of the river Anduin.

"Almost there." Sathien told Emnet as the horse snorted in exhaustion to have galloped such a distance.

Time passed, the sun sunk low into the sky and the stars emerged and all around the land plunged into darkness. Sathien was close enough to hear the water in the river, and that guided her through the inky darkness of the night. They soon entered a sparse forest. They had now left the Brown Lands.

As the darkness cleared and the sun began to rise once more, Sathien pulled Emnet to a stop before the river water and tiredly dismounted, bending down to gather cool water in her hands and take a long drink.

Emnet bent down to drink for many minutes and Sathien splashed herself with water to keep herself vigilant. She sat down on the grass and stretched out in the sun, almost imagining Legolas beside her and missing him sorely.

On the other side of the river were more trees, and Sathien began to wonder if it was the forests of Lorien and if she had been travelling in the right direction. Emnet snorted beside her and she knew that Emnet would have to stay behind as the only way to get to Rohan was to cross the river, and it was dangerous without a boat.

Once across the river, she would be able to find her bearings and continue south. There was distant yelling from the north and Sathien sat up alert, glancing down the river to hear guttural murmings from the north and the silent paddling of a boat approaching.

Sathien stood warily, looking ahead and staring in disbelief. It was a raft of Orcs, dressed in black cloth and carrying pointed sticks for weapons, but they were _Orcs_, and Sathien was so shocked to see them drawing near, to see their hideous faces and for so long having believed they had all perished when Sauron had been destroyed.

Shaking herself to her senses, Sathien grabbed Emnet's reins and drew the horse back behind a tree. She had no weapons, and those Orcs would kill her on sight.

The raft slowly paddled past and Sathien held her breath, hoping the Orcs would not look to the east through the trees. It was silent apart from the splashing of the water and the mumbling of the Orcs.

Then to Sathien's fear, Emnet snorted loudly. The Orcs stopped paddling and Sathien angrily glared at the horse, hoping the Orcs would continue on. It was not likely that they would suspect an Elf to be nearby.

_Unless they serve under this Maglor, then Anarion would have alerted them, then they would be patrolling this river looking for me. _Sathien thought.

"Elf! An Elf!" An Orc cried from the raft.

Sathien's eyes widened, they must have passed by and seen her hiding behind the tree after hearing Emnet.

Should she try to run? She would be skewered with a spear, and she was weaponless. Sathien cursed herself for not grabbing a sword from Amon Lanc when she had the chance. It wasn't very smart at all to be wandering around the lands of Middle Earth with no weapon. Yet there had been no sighting of goblins, Orcs or Wargs for years, and so she had never expected to see them.

But if she stayed she would be captured, killed, tortured or taken away and never be able to warn Remla.

_I could still have a chance to escape if I was captured on that raft. If I'm lucky they could be traveling south and pass by Rohan or Fangorn and I can escape then._

Sathien stepped out from behind the tree to see the Orcs had moored the raft on a tree and had her surrounded, sharp spears pointing at her warily.

"It's that Elf, the one our Lord has sent us to find." a spiky toothed one spoke.

"And she surrendered, just as he said she would." another grinned.

"Don't make a move, Elf." a fat one said throatily.

Sathien heard Emnet whinny and the horse suddenly charged at the Orcs, kicking one aside and the other five started stabbing madly at it with their makeshift spears.

"No!" Sathien stepped forward to help Emnet but an Orc swung and stabbed the spear at her and it snagged her dress, stabbing a small hole in her side. Sathien stumbled back in surprise, grabbing at the wound. If she had moved forward any further she would have been run through by it.

Emnet whinnied again, knocking Orcs to the side. The Orcs seemed almost afraid of it, as though they had not fought in many months.

_And they probably haven't. _Sathien thought as she stepped away from the battle. Emnet would be stabbed to death, and then the Orcs would go after her. Sathien glanced over at the raft and quickly ran to it, pained at having to leave the horse to die that way.

She quickly undid the mooring ropes and pushed off from the bank, watching as the Orcs stumbled away from the horse to retreat and saw her escaping.

"No!" one shrieked.

The fat one threw its spear at her. Sathien reacted instinctively, crouching low as the spear flew past her shoulder to land in the water. The other Orcs started swimming into the water trying to reach her, but the raft was being carried south by the current of the river and soon she was quite a distance away from them, no longer able to hear Emnet's whinnying and the Orcs angry shouts.

She let out a breath of relief and smiled at her good fortune. She had a way to quickly get to Rohan, but still, she would need to stay alert for any more Orcs patrolling down Anduin.


	3. Legolas' Fate

**3**

Remla tidied up the stables, walking under the horses as she swept up the dust and mildew from last night's rain.

"Remla?"

Remla recognized the voice immediately.

"Faramir?"

"I-I-" Faramir's voice was shaking and she sounded as though he were on the verge of tears. Remla stopped sweeping and went over to him, staring up at him and noticing the grey in his hair, the expression of grief on his face.

"It's Haromir," Faramir choked out. "He's dead."

"Dead?" Remla gasped, dropping her sweeper and staring into the distance. How could the heir be dead? It had to have been murder, someone plotting to kill the son of the King of Rohan, it had to have been that.

"Murdered?" Remla asked softly.

"No," Faramir shook his head sadly. "He passed away in his sleep."

"Poison?" Remla did not think a young man would have died in his sleep, it was murder.

"No. He passed in peace," Faramir whispered. "No one would have a reason to kill my son."

Remla watched as Faramir walked out of the stables.

"There will be a funeral tonight, all of Edoras will be attending." Faramir cleared his throat. "And do not suspect it as murder, Remla, for it was just-"

Faramir began to sob and left quickly. Remla felt like going after him. Why had he come into the stables to tell her anyway? He could have told her when the rest of Edoras were told. But she suspected that he also suspected that it could not have been an incident, that he had been killed as Theodred had been when Grima had been around, which she remembered from the many history books in the Hall.

_It's a work of Sauron. _Remla thought. _I knew he couldn't die. He's planning to destroy Rohan. The heir is dead, and if Eowyn doesn't have another child, then the future of Rohan will fall._

Remla took a seat down on the hay. She was not going to accept Haromir's death as a tragedy, it was murder, and it had been planned. She had changed much since the breaking of the Fellowship, the long journey that had taken her across Middle Earth. She would show Lady Eowyn and Lord Faramir that it had been murder, but she needed to find out who would have killed him, and what the reasons were.

* * *

The woods had cleared and Sathien could see the plains of Rohan in the distance, much closer than yesterday.

Sathien adjusted the cloth she had torn from her dress and tied around her wound, pulling it tighter and ignoring the pain. She had felt worse pain when she had been hit by that arrow in Helm's Deep, and she did not want to feel such pain again. Even her old wound still hurt, it had not been cleansed and had not healed as properly as it should have been.

Sathien kept her mind busy by recalling maps she had looked at in Amon Lanc, and figuring out the direction she was to go.

"Sathien?"

Sathien gasped, looking wildly around the shores of the river, looking for her Legolas who had spoken to her. And there he was standing on a rock, smiling down at her, his eyes pained, his clothes torn with splashes of blood and encrusted in mud.

"Legolas?" Sathien whispered in disbelief. He had to have been a trick, nothing more. Legolas could not have known she was travelling down Anduin, that she had not been captured, and that he could have caught up to her.

"My love, I can't find you."

Sathien blinked at his words, and then realization dawned upon her. It was nothing more than a vision, her gift of foresight which had increased lately and becoming more realistic as it had been during the Fellowship.

"Where are you?" Sathien cried, not caring if he was a vision and that he would not tell her. She wanted him back, she didn't want to think of him being tortured, and looking as he did now before her.

"You won't be able to find me," the vision said sadly. "You won't be able to save me, I am lost. Continue onto Rohan, for you must not come to my aid in Angmar."

"Angmar?" Sathien started trying to paddle backwards as Legolas was standing on the rock and she was drifting away from him.

"How could you be there? Why would you be there? You weren't captured!"

"But I was when I went back for you."

Sathien couldn't help but laugh.

"What is this? I am speaking with you as though you were here, you are just a vision, you wouldn't know where he was!"

"But in your 'visions' you saw the future, did you not?" vision Legolas called as she floated farther away down the river, he didn't even run after her, just stood there on the rock, watching her.

"You saw Remla as she had been during the stairs of Minas Morgul. And you see me now, as I will be if I am not saved by you."

"But you're okay!" Sathien shouted back, studying his confident posture.

"I can't stand the torture any longer," Legolas pulled back his Elven cloak to reveal whip gashes on his side, the blood now dripping and flowing down the bank into the water.

"No!" Sathien gasped in horror, seeing the blood glistening as though Legolas was really there, dying before her.

"You must forget me, if you are to stop Anarion and the Mirkwood Elves!" Legolas shouted and then he was gone. The blood on the rock was gone, and Sathien was left with an empty, twisted feeling inside.

She missed Legolas now more than ever, and the vision had not helped her one bit. She couldn't let Legolas die that way, and her visions were to be trusted.

_So if my visions were right, Legolas is in the witch realm of Angmar, prisoner of the Mirkwood Elves. _Sathien looked away, her neck growing sore, and looked back out to Rohan. _I must continue onto Rohan. Gather weapons, warn the others and then go after Legolas, for I will never forget about him, I must save him._

Sathien took a deep breath, using her arm to guide the raft over to the west bank and quickly climbed off before it floated away. She pulled herself to her feet, watching the raft float down the river, thinking of Legolas.

Now that she was safe in the plains of Rohan, she could continue to Edoras and find Remla. The thought of speaking to her friend after two long years filled her with anticipation and dread. Going to Edoras would take too much time, and Legolas occupied her thoughts too much. She did not want to lose him, as he was the love of her life.


End file.
